Magna Carta of Chester, or Cheshire, was a charter of rights issued in 1215 in the style of ''
Magna Carta''. The charter is primarily concerned with the relationship between the
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
and his barons, though the final clause states that the barons must allow similar concessions to their own tenants.
Background
![Wales 1234 (Marchia Wallie and Pura Wallia)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Wales_1234_%28Marchia_Wallie_and_Pura_Wallia%29.svg)
The
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining ...
Charter of Liberties
The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the ...
did not apply to the shire of
Chester, which at the time was a separate feudal domain. At the petitions of his barons, the
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
,
Ranulf III set out his own charter. The similarities between many of the clauses in the Magna Carta of Chester and those in ''
Magna Carta'' indicates that it was written after
King John issued the latter on 19 June 1215.
In the early 1200s, the
Earldom of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
was the only
county palatine
In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating to ...
on the
Welsh Marches;
[ Ranulf III ruled Chester as a separate feudal domain. His barons living outside of Cheshire are referred to as his 'knights from England'. In the late 12th century manuscript '' De laude Cestrie'', Lucian of Chester describes the county as obedient, 'more to the sword of its prince than to the crown of the king.'
Ranulf III had been loyal to the king during the ]First Barons' War
The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...
and had supported '' Magna Carta''. Ranulf III, William Marshal
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...
, the Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...
and Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation ...
were the most powerful supporters of the king. In 1215, Ranulf was one of the few magnates
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
to serve as a witness for ''Magna Carta''.
Before John's death in 1216, rebel barons offered the throne of England to Prince Louis of France. Louis arrived in England unopposed in the summer of 1216 and took Winchester. Ranulf was an outspoken supporter for the re-issuing of ''Magna Carta'' after Louis' retreat in 1217. He also witnessed the 1225 re-issue of the Runnymead ''Magna Carta''. His general support for John's ''Magna Carta'', makes the issuing of his own no surprise.
Content
The charter is recorded as having been issued, 'at the petition of the barons of Cheshire,' suggesting that they were sufficiently discontented that Ranulf III attempted to pacify them before taking the cross.
The charter has 13 clauses, in contrast to the 60 of ''Magna Carta''.
''Clauses 1 & 4''
Several clauses approach issues found in the Runnymede charter, but in a different way. Clauses 1 and 4 deal with the rival claims of the earl's court and barons' courts to jurisdiction over tenants living on baronial estates. Clause 1 acknowledges the earl's right to judge the most serious offences, but Clause 4 allows defendants of his court to plea 'thwetnic' (total denial), on which the defendant would be released to the jurisdiction of their baron.
''Clauses 2 & 3''
Clauses 2 and 3 refer to the system whereby fugitive villeins
A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or '' crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them ...
from outside the county, including those fleeing justice, could take refuge on the estates of the earl or his barons. This was accompanied by an obligation on the part of male fugitives to provide labour and military service.
''Clauses 5 & 6''
Clause 5 limits penalties that the earl's court could apply, but Graeme White argues that this applied only to the specific of non-attendance by judges and suitors; a far more restricted context than that specified in ''Magna Carta'' clauses 20 and 21. Clause Six grants various rights within the Cheshire forests: to assart
Assarting is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed in a ...
, cultivate land and sell dead wood. Clause 8 protects widows and heirs, but makes no specific mention of wardship
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient ...
.
''Clause 9''
Clause 9 raises the issue whereby urban residence for a year and day would secure an individual freedom from villeinage. Migration from the countryside into Chester - prospering as a port in the wake of Henry II's acquisitions in Ireland - was of concern to the Cheshire barons, who wanted their entitlements to reclaim their villeins spelled out.
''Clause 10''
Clause 10 concerns limits to military service and castle-guard
Castle-guard was an arrangement under the feudal system, by which the duty of finding knights to guard royal castles was imposed on certain manors, knight's fees or baronies. The greater barons provided for the guard of their castles by exacting ...
duty, similar to ''Magna Carta'' clauses 16 and 29. However, Clause 10 goes into a level of detail befitting a frontier county accustomed to threatened or actual attack from the Welsh. Significant points here include the treatment of the Lyme as a border beyond which Cheshire knights are not obliged to fight and the expectation that the garrisoning of Chester castle should fall primarily upon fees of the honour outside the county.
''Clause 11''
Clause 11 limits the provisions that could be claimed by officials. This clause resembles ''Magna Carta'' Clause 28, although the Cheshire charter focusses specifically upon the entitlements of itinerant law-enforcement officers.
''Clause 12''
Clause 12 of the charter has no counterpart in ''Magna Carta''. Ranulf III was quite happy to itemise the petitions he had turned down, most of which were related to the aspirations of particular individuals or interest-groups, rather than the baronial community as a whole.
The steward mentioned was Roger de Montalt, who held land on the south-west side of the Dee estuary
The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles ...
; he was well-placed to profit from accidents to ships using the port of Chester. The reference to, 'the coursing of their hares in the forest on the way to, or returning from Chester in response to a summons,' suggests that the barons were hoping that sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
would be laid on whenever they were summoned to Chester.
Comparison with ''Magna Carta''
Many phrases in the Cheshire charter are similar to those in '' Magna Carta'' and appear to have been adapted directly from it. Clause 1 in the Cheshire charter refers to 'pleas of the sword' (''exceptis placitis ad gladium meum pertinentibus''), similar to Clause One of ''Magna Cartas 'pleas of the Crown.' Similarly, Clauses 1 and 4 conclude with references to a private prosecutor and witnesses respectively, paralleling the provisions made in ''Magna Carta'' Clause 38 to prevent unsupported allegations by local officials.
Clause 6 grants the Cheshire barons rights within the Cheshire forests to: assart
Assarting is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed in a ...
; cultivate land; and sell dead wood. In contrast to the 'forest clauses' of ''Magna Carta'' (44, 47 and 48), there is no mention of disafforestation or curbing officials.
Clause 8 protects widows and heirs, but makes no specific mention of wardship
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient ...
. The clause is so brief that it suggests the outrage fuelling ''Magna Carta'' Clauses 2 - 8 were of less concern to the barons of Cheshire.
Clause 13 contains the strongest link to ''Magna Carta'', with its insistence that, ‘all common knights and free tenants of the whole of Cheshire,’ should enjoy the same treatment from the barons, as the barons would have from the earl. This parallels ''Magna Carta's'' Clause 60, which extends its concessions to ‘all men of our realm’.
Reissue
When ''Magna Carta'' was reconfirmed in 1300 by Edward I, the Earldom of Chester had already belonged to the king for 63 years, thus ''Magna Carta'' applied to Cheshire. However, the Cheshire charter was also confirmed on 30 March 1300. The charter had previously been reissued on 27 August 1265, after the Battle of Evesham to reward the county for its support.
References
Notes
Cited works
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*{{cite web
, title=The Magna Carta of Cheshire
, last1=White , first1=Graeme
, translator-last1=Pepler , translator-first1=Jonathan
, website=The Magna Carta Project
, date=May 2015 , access-date=17 February 2017
, url=http://magnacarta.cmp.uea.ac.uk/read/feature_of_the_month/May_2015_6
Further reading
*Swallow, Rachel. 2014. ‘Gateways to Power: The Castles of Ranulf III of Chester and Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd’, ''Archaeological Journal'', vol. 171, pp. 291–314.
Summary of the Magna Carta of Cheshire by Graema White, with translations by Jonathan Pepler
1210s in law
History of human rights
Chester
Medieval charters and cartularies of England
Medieval English law
Political charters
Political history of medieval England
History of Cheshire
1215 in England